More on Corwin Brown

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Weekend ND Update

Here’s the latest scoop:

- The South Bend Tribune and Chicago Sun Times are both reporting that Corwin Brown has been hired as defensive coordinator for the Irish.  Word is he was on campus on Friday.  Look for an official announcement early next week.

- The Tribune is also reporting that both Minter and Peter Vaas have been “terminated”.  We all expected this for Minter, but the rumors that Vaas was leaving said that he had just decided to move on to something else.  While there has been no official word from the university yet, it seems a bit strange that Vaas would be canned.  I’m guessing that would have to be due to some sort of difference in philosophy between he and Weis.

- No word yet on what’s going to happen with Jappy Oliver.  Some believe that Weis will leave any other defensive coaching changes up to the discretion of Brown.  Should be interesting to see how that all shakes out.

The majority of people seem pretty psyched about the hire.  Here’s what I like:

- Brown is 36 and an up and comer.  We’ve seen other teams (e.g., Michigan) have success with this formula.  The fact that he’s fiery and energetic helps as well.  Defense is all about attitude.  There are some out there who think that Minter’s schemes were a bit complex in an attempt to make up for a lack of talent and the guys couldn’t keep up with them. 

- Minter and Oliver haven’t exactly set the world on fire with recruiting.  For the Irish, it’s harder on the defensive side of the ball because our D has been terrible for the past several years.  The offensive guys are coming in droves because they want to play under Yoda and make it in the NFL.  Once the D starts playing a bit better, the top defensive recruits will come, Ray.

- Brown has a good NFL pedigree.  I like the idea of getting another NFL guy in here to impress recruits and tinker with the system.  Brown is another Parcells/Belichek disciple, so I’m definitely down with that.

In any event, this is a huge hire for Weis.  It’s one that is going to change the direction of the program (at least on D), hopefully in the right way.  If you remember, when Weis was hired he basically had about three weeks to assemble his staff, all while he was helping lead that Patriots to another Super Bowl title.  A big reason he went with Minter was because of his ND ties and previous head coaching experience.  Well, that didn’t pan out too well.  If Weis didn’t get it right this time, he’s going to have some serious problems on his hands.

Let’s hope he did.

Technorati Tags: weis, nd, college football, corwin brown, peter vaas, rick minter, jappy oliver